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instance, if there’s a need to install a power
line or repair conveyors, he’s asked to approve
the request. If it would have an impact on
rock art, “I’d advise Rio accordingly”.
Prior to joining Rio Tinto, Ken worked
as an anthropologist for the Sacred Sites
Authority, based in Darwin. Before that
he worked through the Northern Land
Council and was involved with land claims
and pastoral-lease living-area excisions for
Aboriginal communities. Between 1993 and
2003, he was also the expert adviser to the
NT Coroner on Aboriginal human remains.
“There are elaborate facial representations
present on the Burrup rock art. These people
were adept artists from the word go,” he says.
He hopes the rock art becomes more
recognised for its va lue to Australia’s
heritage, and that “the govern ment sees
tourism as a more attractive option instead
of always backing industrial development”.
The rock of the Dampier Archipelago is
hard and resists weathering, he says; there
are works thought to date back 30,000 years
still visible, as well as others produced within
the past few thousand years. The fact that
fresh water was ava ilable within the incised
SAVE OUR ROCK ART
Notable rock art regions under threat from mining,
vandalism, development and natural causes in
Australia are: the Dampier Archipelago (WA);
Woodstock Abydos Prote cted Reser ve (WA); the
Kimberley region (WA); Sydney Basin (NSW);
Mount Isa region (QLD); Tasmania. While indepth
research has only just begun on the Woodstock
location, research has been underway in others. For
instance, Kimberley art is said to date back to the
ice age and its beeswax examples date back three
to four thousand years; Tasmania has combinations
of painting s, e ngrav ings and sten cilling that are s aid
to be extremely old based on weathering; art in the
Sydney Basin is said to be more recent; and works
foun d in the Pilbara are pre dom inantly e ngrav ings .
To get involved with helping to protect and promote ou r
rock a rt, keep an eye on the UWA website at uwa.edu.
au for donation opportu nities an d more.
valleys, before it became a n archipelago,
also means that there were people present
very early. You can see the switch, through
the art, from the dominance of land animal
subjects to sea creatures as the archipelago
began to form about 8000 years ago, he adds.
Ken has formed the view that Rio Tinto
takes its corporate responsibility seriously,
saying it accepted the heritage listings on the
Burrup early on, adjusting its development
accordingly. “Meanwhile there a re at least
two nitrate companies looking to establish
facilities next to the existing Burrup
Fertiliser operation, encouraged by the
government. The question you have to ask
therefore is: ‘Does Australia value its own
heritage in favour of industrial expansion?’”
If Ken has anything to do with it, the
answer is an emphatic ‘yes’, working
with industry, as an archaeological and
anthropological expert, gradually changing
the way big business deals with precious
artefacts. “By working within a company,
it’s possible to influence their thinking. I
genuinely feel Rio Tinto believes in proper
engagement with Aboriginal people. It has
also begun a seven-year program to run a
field school to give university students the
chance to study rock art and engage with
traditional owners, as well as industry.” I
For more on the Centre for Rock-Art Studies,
visit uwa.edu.au . For more on the Rio Tinto
university program, visit riotinto.com/careers.
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